Cruisers don’t take cash on board

24 March 2011

A recent study by an independent cruise comparison website has revealed that a third of cruisers ‘never’ take spending money with them on their cruising holiday; with the majority explaining that they simply ‘don’t need’ the extra cash.

A new study by an independent cruise comparison website has looked at the spending habits of Britain’s cruisers; revealing that just over a third of cruisers ‘never’ take any spending money with them on their cruising holiday.

The poll, conducted by www.CruiseCompare.co.uk, was part of research to explore the spending habits of British cruisers. The study subsequently asked 1,428 British cruisers to share their opinions towards the expenses usually involved in their cruising holiday.

Respondents to the study were initially asked, ‘Do you take spending money with you when you embark on an all -inclusive cruise?’ Just over one third, 31%, of respondents answered that they ‘never’ take spending on their cruise, whilst a quarter, 26%, claimed to only take extra money with them ‘occasionally.’

The respondents to the study were then asked to elaborate on their decisions to take/not take spending money. Over half, 54%, of those who ‘never’ take spending money on a cruise stated that they simply ‘didn’t need’ extra spending money; whilst a fifth, 22%, felt that taking extra cash on board was ‘too much hassle.’

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Furthermore, 18% of the respondents who admitted to ‘never’ taking extra spending money explained that the ‘additional cost’ of taking cash was the main factor motivating their decision.

In addition, the respondents who claimed to ‘never’ take money with them were asked if they’d ever had to draw additional money out during their cruising holiday. To this, 27%, answered “yes.”

In contrast, two fifths, 43% of respondents stated that they ‘always’ take extra spending money with them on a cruising holiday. When asked why this was the case, the majority, 62%, did so in order to purchase additional goods on-board.

Respondents who admitted to ‘always’ taking spending money with them on their cruise holiday were then asked to detail the amount they took with them on their last cruise. The majority, 41%, admitted to taking £100 - £150 on their last cruise holiday; whilst 13% admitted to taking £150 - £200. In addition, a fifth, 22%, claimed to take £50- £100.

According to the research, just 9% of those who ‘always’ take spending money on a cruise took over £500 with them on their last cruising holiday. When asked to explain why they decided to take a large amount with them, despite it being an all-inclusive cruise, the majority, 43%, stated that it was simply for ‘emergencies’.

Danielle Fear, Managing Director of CruiseCompare.co.uk, had the following to say:

“We wanted to conduct this research to look more into the spending habits of cruisers, simply because a cruise holiday is often considered to be one of the most expensive types of holiday and in many cases, simply isn’t the situation.”

She continued:

“Whilst some cruises are all inclusive, this won’t include the money passengers may wish to spend on the likes of excursions and when visiting each port. I would always suggest taking some money when going on any holiday, or at least a form of payment such as a debit/credit card or travellers cheques. It never pays to have a little extra cash on you just in case, even if all of your drinks and meals are provided; as you never know when the shops on board may catch your eye!”